Beyond the weather beaten lodges of Ohakune, National Park and other Central Plateau winter bases, New Zealand's Mt. Ruapehu has had a season of mixed emotions. Situated centrally within the Tongariro National Park, Mt. Ruapehu is the largest of 3 active volcanos which dominate the sky-line here and provide North Islanders with their fix of vertical snow.

Season extended
On opposite sides of the mountain, Whakapapa and Turoa, the North Islands premier ski-fields, have had the greatest snow levels for the last 10 years. The base is currently at 290cm, slightly down from this years seasonal average of 300cm and an announcement was made early last week to extend the season until 11th November. On the downside, a mixture of high winds and poor visability has resulted in an unusually high number of closed days since the start of the season back in late June.

Pipes and hiking
Although frustrating days spent waiting for updated mountain reports have very often been the norm this season, patience has been rewarded with fresh snow, blue skies and some great skiing and boarding here. With 1,800 hectres of terrain to play on, this is the largest lift-accessed ski area in New Zealand and when it's 'on', it is most definately 'on'.

Along with a wide selection of groomed runs and excellent off-trail, both Turoa and Whakapapa boast well maintained terrain parks complete with well shaped table-tops, hips, a half-pipe and a variety of rails including rainbow, kinked and straight. The upper mountain here can be reached up to 2,300m via an organised system of chairs and T-bars and the glacier at 2,700m is well worth the 2 hour hike for both the view and the ride back down.

The snow's still holding out
With currently just over a month to go until the lifts shut down for the summer, there is potential for some very good spring skiing or boarding. The snow is here and if the weather and volcanic activity (Mt. Ruapehu last blew its top in 1996!) hold out it'll be a great end to another southern hemisphere snow season. If the cold south-westerlys continue to snap however we could well see a large number of frustrated seasonaires checking in for a bit of detox come the end of this month!

Report by Andy Keeble

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